Compensation for nursery officer crushed by falling metal door

A children’s nursery officer, Beverley Hampshire, who was crushedunder a falling metal door has been awarded a substantial sum incompensationby Sheffield City Council’s First Start Children’s Centre.

UNISON member Beverley Hampshire, 47, was fetching play equipment from an outdoor shed when the heavy metal door fell off its hinges, collapsing on her and trapping her against a fence. She raised her arms to protect her head, which resulted in her hand being bent backwards and injuries to her wrist, forearm, shoulder and neck.

Dave Prentis UNISON’s General Secretary said “Beverley is suffering from a very painful injury which no amount of compensation can make up for. Because of the nature of Beverley’s workplace this incident could have easily involved children too. This could have been avoided if the shed door had been properly maintained.

Every year UNISON supports thousands of members who have beeninjured at workbecause of their employer’s neglect of health and safety. We see first hand what a devastating effect this can have on people’s lives and that’s why we’re proud to help members like Beverley secure fair compensation for their injuries.”

Injury limits her day to day activities

Mrs Hampshire has since been diagnosed with frozen shoulder and chronic regional pain syndrome, which severely limits her day to day activities. The swelling in her hands remains so bad that she can no longer wear her wedding ring.

“It really hurts me to put any stress on my hand”, says Mrs Hampshire. “After the accident I found I could no longer do basic things like shopping, cooking dinner, gardening or the housework. Even after a year’s training I still can’t drive a car for more than half an hour without feeling pain. This has all put a lot of strain on my husband.”

“My elbow, shoulder and neck are also very sore for most of the day and this gives me frequent headaches, while at night the pain wakes me up from my sleep.”

Karen Simmonds from Thompsons Solicitors says Sheffield City Council was liable because it failed to provide Mrs Hampshire with a safe working environment.

“The metal door that fell on Mrs Hampshire was an accident waiting to happen. The children’s centre hadn’t secured the door correctly, it hadn’t maintained the shed and it hadn’t even put a sign up near the door to warn staff that it was unsafe.

“Proper maintenance would have prevented this accident and spared Mrs Hampshire all the pain and financial loss she has suffered as a result.”

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